Cadets tackle leadership training at Ft. Jackson

You are an Army officer in Iraq. You have a wounded patient that you have to get to safety, and in order to get that patient to safety, you have to build a bridge. You have a wire, a board and a harness.

That is one scenario cadet teams tackled in a team building exercise in Ft. Jackson in Columbia, S.C., where they spent a day on a leadership training excursion. The day concluded a week-long leadership training which is sponsored annually by the commandant’s office and the Krause Initiative to prepare for the freshman class arrival.

The cadet cadre—the cadets who are directly responsible for training the freshmen cadets—along with members of the commandant’s office left Charleston at 5:30 a.m., Saturday, for Ft. Jackson. The heat was intense, but the 240 cadets participating stayed hydrated.

At the site firing range, cadets watched basic trainees take part in a live fire exercise with M16s. On the confidence course, they negotiated obstacles like barbed wire and swinging ropes. And on the Field Leadership Reaction Course, they worked together to create solutions to hypothetical situations.

Before returning to Charleston, the cadets enjoyed dinner at the Army dining facility and exchanged stories with some West Point cadets who were training with different units.

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